Nido Welcome

Today is Caroline and Luke’s 19^th day of school and it’s time to write about “Nido Welcome.” After checking out several schools, we found one 5 minutes from our home where they could both attend. Their day begins around 8:45 and ends at 1:15 – at least it will eventually. The school is gradually building up to this ending time. This week, they are picked up at 12:30 (we’ve done 11, 11:30 and noon prior to!). Miss Elizabeth, who is the director of the school and also one of Caroline’s teachers, is fluent in English and studied at Rice University. She keeps me in the loop! Luke’s teacher, Miss Maribel, knows enough English that she can “assist” Luke. With her English and my Spanish, we are able to “talk” to each other.

Choosing a school for the kids was something that we were anxious about when moving to Peru, but the first day the kids and I stepped foot in the school, I knew it was the right place. Caroline is in the “kinder class” and is already singing in Spanish and bringing home new words every day. Her class has only 7 children and a teacher’s aid whom she adores. She is comfortable and happy. Luke is with the 3 year olds and appears to have made some friends. Miss Maribel says las ninas (the girls) like him a lot! When I pick him up, I often find him doing a new puzzle. Yesterday, he was working on a fruit puzzle. When he finished, he told me the names of the fruits in Spanish! They are learning and it is amazing!

Early childhood education in Peru is quite different from that in the U.S. Here, the kids dress in uniforms and have textbooks (which need to be covered with a clear material called vinifan – ask Matt about this one!). It is a little more academic than the U.S., but they are having fun, enjoying time with peers and learning a new language. Music, karate and ballet (for the girls), which start in April, are also part of the curriculum.

Each morning as I kiss and hug them goodbye, I stand in awe of these two brave souls taking on school in a different language and a different culture. And each afternoon that I pick them up, I’m so pleased to find them smiling and happy… and smelling good (“kid cologne” is applied after recess - another difference J)!

Father-Daughter Sunset Photo Shoot

This past week, Caroline and I had the chance to walk over to the Malecon to spend a little quality time together watching the sunset. We each brought a camera along and grabbed a patch of grass on the edge of the cliffs overlooking the ocean where the paragliders take off during the day. It was great just hanging out with each other and experiencing the glorious sunset together. These pictures do not even come close to showing the amazing beauty of the sunset (or Caroline).

Creme de la Cremolada

The “sweetest” thing about living at our apartment on Bolognesi is that we are directly across the street from Curich Cremolada which Luke calls “the fruit drink place.” A cremolada is similar to a slurpee, but about a million times better. It starts out as a treat you eat with a spoon and as it melts, becomes an icy drink. Caroline and Luke have learned that cremoladas are to be savored. One or two quick bites result in severe brain freeze! We are working our way through the many flavors including Peruvian fruits lucuma, guanábana, maracuya, camu camu and tuna (not the fish!). I think we’ve tried 14 different flavors with 30 or so more to go!

Here's a photo of Luke enjoying a new flavor - uva (grape).

Lima: The Beginning

It has been more than 50 days since we left Boston for Lima, Peru and I am embarrassed to say that this is my first entry in our now resurrected blog. All I can say is “better late than never.” We’ve been busy settling in and adjusting to life in Lima. In this entry, I’ll try to bring you up to speed and I promise to be more forthcoming with stories from Peru. We miss everyone back home and think of you often. I know many are curious to see pictures and hear of our time here. I promise to do a better job!

Our first two weeks in Lima were spent at the Residencial Carlos, a small hotel in San Isidro. The week before we arrived in Lima, we learned that my friend Jennifer’s mom, Betsy (who is from Peru), has a cousin who owns a hotel in Lima (little did we know we would spend 13 nights at “Aurora’s place” as Caroline and Luke dubbed it). When we stepped off of the plane late at night in Lima, we were met by a driver holding up a sign for “Mat Augustin.” Matt and I looked at each other and decided that was probably us. The driver whisked us through the night streets of Lima to our very quiet, very nice hotel with it’s beautiful garden, pet turtle, delicious breakfast of fresh rolls, eggs, papaya and fresh-squeezed orange juice, which we enjoyed for about 9 or 10 mornings in a row!

We spent our first week enjoying the warm temperatures and sunshine. It was great to pull on short sleeves while leaving our winter coats, hats and boots behind. We haven’t missed them, yet! We explored the beautiful parks of Miraflores, where we now live. We took great pleasure in seeing the vast Pacific Ocean from atop the cliffs of Lima. We explored new grocery stores, visited Larcomar (an outdoor shopping center with restaurants, stores and “kid rides”- Caroline and Luke’s favorite place in all of Lima), and strolled along the Malecon (the long pedestrian and bike road that goes along the ocean and connects the parks). We also began an apartment search that was interesting and quite laborious. We did get to “know” Miraflores quite well during that time. Two weeks isn’t a long time to find an apartment… except when you are a family of four living in one room!

We finally moved in to our current home on February 5. It was the very last place we viewed. Even though we felt at that point that we’d move into the next place we saw (no matter what), it is by far the best. We are in a great location and can walk anywhere we like (which is good since we don’t have a car). We are a block away from the famous Parque del Amour and the cliffs that overlook the ocean. Matt and I enjoy running on the malecon most mornings. The kids love the parks and “hiking” down to the ocean. We can walk to playgrounds, Larcomar and supermarkets. Matt is also able to walk to work.

Above is a photo from the malecon – one block from our place. Hope it convinces some of you to come visit us in Lima!